


Not Like the Movies

by orphan_account



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Blood, Caitlin with Killer Frost powers, F/M, Injury, handshanking, questionable medical practices
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 21:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7547153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Cisco and Caitlin's attempts at crime-fighting go wrong, Caitlin takes Cisco's life into her own hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Like the Movies

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the five-word promt "killed him? Wait what, literally?" given to me by Julia.

Barry’s phone beeped in his pocket, and he pulled it out. To his surprise, it was Caitlin. He’d been sure that the pair had been out fighting crime again, so he hadn’t been expecting a call. _Maybe they need an extraction_ , he mused as he raised the phone.

“What’s up, Caitlin?” he asked, lounging in his chair.

“I need you to come to STAR Labs _right now_ ,” the doctor said, her voice raw and worried. “It’s Cisco. I-”

She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence before Barry arrived in the Cortex with a burst of lightning. Caitlin was in the medbay, her blue outfit splattered red-brown with what looked horrendously like blood. Her eyes were red and teary, but Barry couldn’t locate the source of her worry, until he looked over her shoulder into the medbay.

Cisco was stretched out on the cot, his crime-fighting jacket cast on the floor and a large gauze pad on his chest. His eyes were closed, and a faint blue tinge lingered on his lips and fingers.

Barry was instantly by Cisco’s side, hands gripping the side of the bed. Despite Caitlin’s efforts, the monitors that Caitlin had hooked to Cisco were reading a persistent flatline.

“What happened?” He asked, swallowing hard.

“I killed him.” Caitlin’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“ _Killed him_?!” Barry practically shouted. “Literally _killed him_? _Then_ _what the hell are you waiting for?_ ” He began to vibrate his hands, electricity crackling around them as he used them as an instant defibrillator.

“No, wait!” Caitlin pulled Barry’s hands back with a grunt. “He got shot in the chest when we were stopping a robbery, and I knew he wouldn’t make it back to STAR Labs fast enough. So I gave him hypothermia to stop his heart and make sure he didn’t bleed out.”

Barry stepped back from the cot, breath leaving him all at once as he sagged against the wall. “Next time, be a little less dramatic in your word choice,” he groaned.

“I need your help,” Caitlin pressed. “I can’t get the bullet out on my own. Can you phase it out?”

“Where is it?”

“Between the third and fourth ribs, just inside his vena cava.” Caitlin pulled a camera over Cisco, revealing the small piece of metal lodged inside him.

“Hold him still,” Barry instructed. Caitlin leaned her weight across Cisco’s shoulders, holding him down. Vibrating his hand, Barry brought it close to Cisco’s chest, eyes on the screen as he moved his hand into position. Breathing out hard, he reached through Cisco until his fingers found the bullet, misshapen and ugly inside his friend. He plucked it out, letting it clatter onto a nearby tray. Caitlin was instantly back in position, patching up the rest of the wound where it sluggishly leaked blood. Barry stepped back, watching as Caitlin worked with quick professionalism. It was only when she had tucked a warming blanket around Cisco’s torso that she slumped into the chair beside the cot, burying her face in her hands.

Barry rubbed her back soothingly as she sobbed. “You did great,” he said calmingly. “You saved his life, Caitlin.”

Caitlin raised her head, her face crumpled and tear-stained as she looked at Barry. “I thought I was going to lose him,” she whispered. “I couldn’t lose him, not after Ronnie and Jay.”

“Cisco’s a tough cookie,” Barry said with a smile. “It’ll take more than a gunshot wound to stop him.”

As if on cue, the heart monitor beeped once, then again, beginning a slow but steady rhythm. Caitlin smiled, wrapping her hand around Cisco’s.

“Thank you,” she said gratefully. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Barry.”

Barry shrugged. “Kick ass and save lives, probably.” Smiling, he sped off back home, leaving Cisco and Caitlin alone together.

It was several hours before Cisco groaned, attempting to move beneath the heat blanket. Caitlin was instantly at his side, bringing it gently around his arms.

“Ugh, feels like I got handshanked again,” he muttered, voice rough from the tube he’d had down his throat.

“You got shot, and Barry had to remove the bullet,” explained Caitlin, sliding a pillow under Cisco’s head. “I had to freeze you to stop you from bleeding out, so you might be feeling some tingling in your extremities.”

“You froze me?” Cisco’s eyes widened. “Cool - pun fully intended.”

“Well technically, I gave you a case of severe hypothermia to place you in cardiac arrest, but yes, I froze you.” She ventured a small smile at Cisco, who returned it.

“It’s really good to see you,” he remarked. “Y’know, you taking out muggers like a badass and leaning over me in concern was a good last sight. I could get used to it.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. You need at least a week’s bedrest, and physical therapy to make sure your muscles aren’t damaged.”

Cisco pouted at Caitlin, but the effect was somewhat ruined by his lingering paleness and the swathe of bandages across his chest. “Fine,” he muttered.

Caitlin couldn’t help but smile at Cisco’s grumpiness, and she stroked a strand of hair away from his eyes where it had fallen. With a grunt of effort, Cisco raised his own hand and caught hers before she could pull away.

“Thank you,” he whispered, not breaking eye contact with Caitlin. She stared back, wondering if Barry had transferred the Speedforce to her at some point, because their moment of eye contact seemed to last forever.

“I couldn’t lose you,” she returned, folding their fingers together and bringing them towards her cheek. “I’ve already lost so much, but you’ve always been there.”

“Good to know somebody noticed.”

Caitlin rolled her eyes fondly. “Ever the goofball.”

“I gotta ask,” Cisco said hesitantly. “When I was - yknow, dead, did anyone kiss me? Or scream, ‘live, dammit!’”

“Um, nope.” Truth be told, the thought had crossed Caitlin’s mind. “Sorry.”

Cisco made a face. “Ah, it’s ok. This isn’t the movies, after all.”

“What about the part where the hero wakes up, and somebody says ‘you almost died’ and kisses him?” Caitlin immediately looked away, blushing furiously.

Cisco’s eyes widened as he looked at Caitlin, then where their hands were still together. A small ‘o’ of realization puckered his mouth, before morphing into a grin.

“That part’s always good, too.”

“Good.” Caitlin leaned forward, her hair falling around her face and onto Cisco’s chest. “I always liked that part.”

“Me too,” Cisco breathed as their faces grew closer. When their lips finally met, it was gentle, almost chaste, the awkward angle making their noses bump together. Caitlin pulled back quickly, her cheeks almost as red as Barry’s suit. She looked down shyly, but couldn’t help but smile.

“I think I could get used to this kind of reception,” Cisco observed. He tried to scooch himself upright, but stopped with a groan of pain. Caitlin placed a concerned hand on his shoulder, urging him back down with an expression of worry.

“You really shouldn’t physically exert yourself,” she admonished, reverting from Caitlin to Dr. Snow faster than Cisco could blink. “After the amount of damage you’ve experienced, all activity that could increase your heart rate is strictly off limits.”   


“Does that include kissing?”

“Sadly, yes.” Caitlin checked a few monitors, hands busy as she flitted around the medbay. “Don’t worry,” she added as she headed out the door. “We can catch up later.”


End file.
